There is something in my bag that would make this whole situation a lot better. But from the front row, I’ll have to be pretty covert about it if I don’t want the professor to catch on. I have a “good student” reputation to defend, after all, and I can’t ruin that in my first semester. My professor – a boisterous and imposing woman with a thick German accent who could probably break me in half with a glare – is also not someone whose bad side I want to explore. But these three-hour-long Anthropology 101 night classes just kill me.
I cough quietly as I pull it out; a diversion. I adjust my notebook atop the desk so that what’s happening on my lap cannot be seen from the professor’s vantage point. Just a few pages is all I need.
I devour one page, and then another, and then another. The feeling of unbridled pleasure rises from within me, but my attentive expression doesn’t change; I’m trained in acting, after all.
Behind me, I hear a quiet snicker. Someone is on to me. A shock of adrenaline pulses through my goody-two-shoes nerves, but the professor doesn’t notice anything. I send a scolding glance backwards with a half-turn of my head and adjust my chair.
He adjusts his chair too, and continues looking over my shoulder. Soon the occasional quiet snickers turn to audible laughter as he can’t contain it any longer.
Amateur.
The professor shoots a look of disapproval in our direction. Frustrated that he has ruined the moment for me, I hastily shut the large and rather unwieldy book of Calvin & Hobbes comics and shove it back into my bag.
Neither of us knew it at the time – we barely knew a thing about one another – but I’m pretty sure that was the moment I won his heart. Before the semester was out, I got to know the edgy, mysterious-looking, faux-hawk sporting, black-and-pink nail polish wearing third year as a funny, intelligent, adventurous guy who had a cat named Calvin and a motorcycle named Hobbes and very nice hands that I might want to try holding one day.
On the Saturday after our last class, we went on our first date. Four years ago today, we tied the knot on a mountaintop in the snow… and it was all downhill from there.
Photo: Rodney Borkovich
Breaking Moulds 
What a romantic story! 🙂 You have a unique and nice way of writing!
Thank you! (^o^)
What! This was adorable, stop it 😉
This is definitely one of the cutest “how we met” stories I’ve ever read! 🙂 I always loved Calvin and Hobbes, and was shocked when I recently learned that a coworker had no idea who they were.
Also, I nominated you for The Liebster Award! If you’re interested, you can check out the rules on my blog. Happy Anniversary!
Thank you so much, you are too kind! I will check that out 🙂
great writing. wonderful story. although i was worried at the end at your downhill reference… i’m glad it was only for the slopes. 🙂
Thanks! Yes, I decided to include the picture of snowboarding, just in case people didn’t get the mountaintop/downhill pun, haha! No worries here! 🙂
whew. 🙂
Calvin and Hobbes is one of my favorites. My oldest was a lot like Calvin with a dose of Dennis the Menace.
Calvin and Dennis all in one child? I am so sorry, your house must always be interesting, though!
If I remember correctly, all of the C & H anthologies were HUGE! How ever did you hide such an unwieldy tome? And, actress or not, how could you not laugh?!
Yeah, they were huge. I think I was reading one of the square ones at the time, though, which were slightly less huge, but still… I also read the Lord of the Rings books, which were pretty substantial themselves, on my lap during boring classes in middle school. I laugh a lot on the inside! It feels much better to be able to laugh out loud, though…
I just adored this. Not saccharine, just solid writing with a good amount of love and personal sharing. So glad I found your blog via Yeah Write.
Thank you! I enjoyed your Yeah Write post immensely as well. See you around! 😀
Reblogged this on ugiridharaprasad.
Hee hee! Gotta love the unifying power of Calvin and Hobbes. Also, I once got caught reading a romance novel in sixth grade during our silent reading time. My teacher plucked the book from my hands and read a passage aloud to the glass. I was mortified. 🙂
Oh, no! And then did your teacher “confiscate” the book (to read during recess)? Haha 😉
Ha! She didn’t — but she DID call my mom to tell her I’d stolen one of her books.
That is such a romantic story! My husband and I enjoy reading Calvin and Hobbes together (even though that’s not what brought us together). I wish you Happily Ever After! 🙂
Thanks! I miss Calvin and Hobbes, actually, since all our books have been in boxes on the other side of the ocean for 3.5 years… it will be good to have them all at hand again soon!
Lovely! Just lovely! And to think, when I first saw you downstairs watching TV, you were actually scouting out him. He introduced you as ‘just a friend’ from class. Happy anniversary!
Thank you! If I remember correctly, he followed that up with “don’t worry you’ll probably never see her again.” Famous last words, eh? 😉
Sweet story and I love your witty ending 🙂 Congrats on 4 years!
Thanks, I’m so glad you thought it was witty and not just terribly punny. Cheers! 🙂
Awe Janelle. This has been a wonderful post for your blog, I quite enjoyed this one. Happy Anniversary you guys, and thanks for the recognition in the photo. 😉 Miss you guys! XoXo
Aww, thanks Rodney! Miss you too but we’ll see you in the summer! 😀
Congratulations to you and your husband on your 4th wedding anniversary, Janelle. I love Calvin and Hobbes too. But much as I love reading, I have never dared to read in any of my boring classes back in the day. I too had a reputation to defend. Or maybe I was too chicken.
Lovely story.
Thank you! I can read in class (comics, novels, whatever) which I thinks comes from looking for things to do because when I was younger I would often finish my work before the other kids… I cannot, however, play video games. I get way too into them and would probably end up yelling out in class, haha!
This has been my favorite blog article yet by far! And not just because of your fine tastes in comics!
Wow, thank you! Calvin & Hobbes is the best, isn’t it? Haha